By Norm Frauenheim-
Sad spectacles are little bit like jagged scars. They are always there, an uncomfortable reminder that real estate between the ropes is as bizarre as it is dangerous. Jermain Taylor is another chapter in the never-ending tale of a love-affair with stories that unfold like accidents. They are doomed to fail.
Leave it up to others to judge whether Taylor should have been allowed to fight for the IBF version of the middleweight title, which he won Wednesday night with a unanimous decision over Sam Soliman in an ESPN2-televised bout in Biloxi, Miss.
We know about the brain bleed he suffered in a 2009 loss to Arthur Abraham. We know that he is facing two felony charges for allegedly shooting his cousin on August 26 at his home in suburban Little Rock. We know about the Facebook video in which he waves a gun and says he’ll never “lose to another white boy.’’
I should be outraged. But I’m not. We’ve seen it before.
Joe Mesi, who retired unbeaten, fought seven times after it was reported he had suffered two brain bleeds in a 2003 victory over Vassiliy Jirov. Floyd Mayweather Jr., who hopes to retire unbeaten, was allowed to fight and beat Miguel Cotto in 2012 before going to jail for domestic violence. Bernard Hopkins, 0-2 against Taylor, once raced across a crowded press room, confronted Joe Calzaghe and shouted that he “couldn’t go back to the projects if I let a white boy beat me.” Four months later, Calzaghe, who also retired unbeaten, scored a split-decision over Hopkins.
The story lines are familiar, because of compliant commissions, judges, legal loopholes, acronyms and money. In Taylor, however, they have come together in what looks like a perfect storm. The IBF’s 160-pound championship appears to be nothing more than a paper crown. But it’s a piece in a jagged puzzle put together behind the scenes by Al Haymon, who promised Taylor the title shot. Haymon fulfilled the deal by moving another one of his fighters, the young and dangerous Peter Quillin, into a position to take the title from Taylor, who also faces a mandatory IBF defense against Hassan N’Dam.
The light-hitting and hobbled Soliman was one thing. He’s 40-years-old. He had 11 losses in 55 fights before the loss. What qualified him to be the IBF’s middleweight champ in the first place? All of that, of course, mattered little to Haymon. Soliman added up to an easy target and that’s what Taylor has become. What might be easy for Quillin, however, is dangerous for Taylor.
It’s hard to know what to make of his Facebook video. It’s offensive, but perhaps it’s intended to be in what was a misguided attempt to sell the Soliman fight. He’s waving around a gun within seven weeks after he was arrested and charged with shooting his cousin? That’s not salesmanship. That’s stupid. It makes you wonder what Taylor is thinking, or if he’s thinking at all.
Nevertheless, Taylor is moving through a system that has pushed other star-crossed fighters into the cross-hairs they always seek and that the sport regrets after it’s too late. It’s not clear where Taylor is in the legal process. As of Thursday, there was still no court date. It could be months when he faces the only mandatory that should matter. Throw in a couple of delays, and he’ll be facing the unbeaten Quillin before he faces a jury. He has a better chance with that jury.
